A story in The New York Times, U.S. Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan, seems to indicate that there are such vast mineral deposits.  I like to think that I was suspicious of this story when I first read it. I was suspicious on factual grounds and because of my general mistrust of The New York Times, given its recent history for making things up at the behest of U.S. government insiders.

Even if true, it reminds me of the suspicions that George Bush attacked Iraq to help US companies (and British Petroleum companies) get their hands on Iraq’s oil wealth on highly favorable terms. (Favorable to the oil companies, not to Iraq).

Now the story Analysis: Did the “gray lady” get played? is published on the Global Post web site. The story offers a bunch of questions on why the decades old pieces of information have recently become so important.

The author of the analysis piece, Jean MacKenzie, does not mention any names.  However, to me the name of General McChrystal somehow pops into mind.

In any case, as I mentioned in the first paragraph, if it turns out that Afghanistan does have immense mineral wealth it only makes our position there less tenable, not more. Again, the U.S. military might have been better off if they hadn’t been so forceful in pushing this story.  Maybe that’s why I think of General McChrystal.